Hanoi
We flew into Hanoi, the Capital of Vietnam. Hanoi is famous for two things, Ho Chi Mihn's embalmed remains and streets that are impossible to cross. We arrived and made our way to our hotel. We were staying in the Old Quarter near the central lake that is the centerpiece of this ancient city. The city had just celebrated its 1,000th birthday and it has an amazing blend of ancient and modern Asia. Skyscrapers in the distance, beautiful ancient buildings mixed in and the ever present neon lights – Hanoi is Asian fusion at its best.
We were also excited to use Hanoi as our base to explore the beautiful scenery and history that is located in Northern Vietnam. The one thing that we were not really prepared for was the cold. Now, I am not complaining (especially because we are well aware of how Winter 2011 has been treating everyone back home) but nonetheless it was around 45 degrees at night and we only have one fleece with us on the trip!
We had been to Bangkok, Vientiane and other SE Asian capitol cities so we didn't really pay much attention the the warnings about traffic and noise. Hanoi was in a different league. No traffic lights – at all. Huge traffic circles and massive intersections that was packed with motorbikes and cars. The amazing thing is that the movement never stopped. It was like currents in a river that just kept flowing from different directions and meshed together to flow in one direction. It was actually quite amazing to watch – not so amazing when you are trying to cross. As you may have gathered from this blog - I am a bit of an adrenaline junkie. After standing in the middle of the street with motorbikes zipping past on either side of us – going different directions – that may be the best rush we get this whole trip. We actually learned that Vietnam paid for a team of consultants from Europe to come and evaluate how to handle the traffic issue. Their professional opinion? Hopeless. They said that the current situation would be basically impossible to change at this point and there is a unbelievably small mortality rate on the roads - “improving” the current system would surely get more people killed. Shockingly, the secret to this insane game of frogger is to go slow! While that may seem counter-intuitive, by crossing slowly you actually give the bikes and other vehicle a chance to avoid you – by sprinting across you actually hurt chance of making it in one piece.
So we decided to get out of town and planned a couple of day trips to visit some of the famous locations around. We took a trip to the famous Perfume Pagoda. This was another temple type trip with the highlight being that the location of this was in a cave located down off of a river in the middle of a classic Northern Vietnamese landscape. To be honest, the weather was not great. It was freezing on the river and the sky was gray. But, as with many of the group trips we have taken the highlight of the trip was people we met in our group. We had an awesome riverboat group. One couple from New Zealand and another couple from Spain. We all had a great time as we floated past some beautiful scenery. We arrived at the bottom of a huge mountain range and started walking up. The Perfume Pagoda is one of the most visited pilgrim sites in Vietnam and during the annual pilgrimage thousands and thousands of people come here everyday. To help with the foot traffic the government built a cable car to the top of the mountain. Instead of taking the 1,000 plus steps up to the top – we decided to take the gondola – but only up we would walk down to get the full experience just not the pain. Danna was not a fan. As the cable car swayed in the wind and kept climbing she eventually just closed her eyes and assumed the crash position (chas veshalom- yes I added this!). It was a beautiful ride up through the lush mountains and we got to the top in like 5 minutes instead of an hour. Great decision.
There was hikes up stairs and downstairs. A cool cave with a big Buddha and some neon slot machine looking things around the shrine. We went up a lot more stairs to get to another temple complex which was very nice. The truth is, it was a nice day but the guides did not really speak English. We are still not sure what the Perfume Pagoda actually is! But a good day with good new friends and some beautiful scenery.
Hanoi is also a gateway to two of Northern Vietnam's most famous tourist regions – Ha Long Bay and Sapa. Ha Long Bay (a World Heritage Site) is a surreal landscape of ocean and massive limestone karsts (mountains) that looked like they were placed there by hand. Sapa is the center for trekking in mountains and visiting local hill-tribes. But, what we learned was that when Hanoi is cold these places are freezing. We were originally planning on Ha Long Bay – we met someone who said it was freezing and the fog was so thick over the water you could barely see the mountains. Our New Zealand friends had just come back from Sapa and told us it was really fun but crazy cold and rainy (Kiwis have the best attitude in the world – the fact that they said anything negative at all meant that by normal standards it was miserable). So....plans change.
We decided to skip the North and book a day trip to Tam Coc - “The Halong Bay of the Rice Paddies” as it is known. Same mountain type formations, jutting out of rice paddies instead of the ocean. The trip should have been called the Tam Coc triathlon.
We got on the bus – and our Spanish friends were there again! It is an amazing feeling to make friends with total strangers and then see them again. The second time makes it feel like you have known them for years. We drove out of town to the city of Nihn Bihn and from there made our way to river of Tam Coc. We walked for a little while together as a group until we reached the bike rental place. They said it is a beautiful bike ride to the river through the scenery – or you can take the van. Just about everyone took the bikes. The bikes were not in great shape. I chose one which looked like it had a cushy seat, but it turns out the seat was not really attached well and settled into a 45 degree angle. So it simultaneously felt like I was sliding off the bike and with every bump in the road was a kick in the groin. But, I didn't say anything – how long could the ride be? Danna ended up on a boys bike so it took some time to get the seat adjusted – it wasn't perfect, but how long could the ride be? The initial excitement of riding bikes through truly majestic scenery started to wear off at the same rate as the pain increased in my legs and back. We stopped to take pictures, we stopped to get some feeling back in my shins. After about a half an hour of seriously bumpy, winding roads the fun and beauty started to morph into dumbfounded amazement that no one said this ride would be this long. After 45 minutes we turned of the highway down a neighborhood side road – I thought it was coming to an end. As we waved to the local kids and found ourselves on a long gravel road in the rice paddies I saw no end in sight. At the one hour and fifteen minute mark we turned off the dirt and the guide finally perks up with a “almost there!” I had visions of throwing a stick into his wheel spokes and watching him fly over the handle bars. At an hour and a half and about 10 kilometers later we arrived at the river. I was really proud of Danna and myself for pushing through and not calling for the van escort. The trip is full of small victories.
Tam Coc actually means three caves. Danna and I got onto a row boat and we were rowed down an amazing river surrounded by magnificent limestone structures and beautifully green landscapes – and yes we went through three caves. The caves are very cool and it is a surreal feeling to float underneath these massive structures. It was a wonderful day seeing the truly amazing landscapes that make Northern Vietnam a must visit in SE Asia.
The final activity for our trip to Hanoi was a show at the legendary Water Puppet Theater. Water puppetry was originated in the flooded rice paddies of Northern Vietnam and is one of the most famous Vietnamese folk arts. We had second row seats and got to listen to traditional music (they have some funky and awesome sounding instruments) and watch the puppet show. The puppets are controlled by long poles that stay underwater the entire time while the marionettes are standing in waist deep water behind the stage set. It was a wonderful way to see some of the ancient culture that lives on till today.
Hanoi was the perfect start to our Vietnamese portion of the trip. But, we are ready to head south and get out of the cold. We scheduled an overnight train to Da Nang to get ourselves to Hoi An and continue our journey south.
